Turkey’s prime diplomat mentioned Saturday President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi would meet to mark the top of a decade of estrangement between the 2 international locations.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, talking alongside his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry throughout a go to to Cairo, mentioned Ankara needed “to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries at the highest level”.
Shoukry mentioned there was a “political will coming from the presidents of our two countries… seeking to normalise relations”.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan welcomed Cavusoglu’s go to to Cairo as an “important step towards a more stable and prosperous region”.
It follows a visit by Shoukry to Turkey final month to indicate solidarity after the devastating earthquake that claimed tens of hundreds of lives in Turkey and neighbouring Syria.
“It is possible that we will disagree in the future, but we will do everything to avoid breaking our relations again,” Cavusoglu mentioned.
Relations bumped into hassle after the 2013 ouster of Egypt’s Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, an ally of Turkey.
At the time, Erdogan mentioned he would “never” converse to “anyone” like Sisi.
But in November, Sisi and Erdogan shook arms in Qatar, in what the Egyptian presidency heralded as a brand new starting of their ties, and the 2 leaders then spoke by phone after the February 6 earthquake.
Cavusoglu on Saturday mentioned the assembly between Erdogan and Sisi would happen “after the Turkish elections”, together with the presidential vote slated for May 14.
While diplomatic exchanges had been as soon as frosty, enterprise by no means stopped: in 2022, Turkey was the biggest importer of Egyptian merchandise totalling $four billion.
But disagreements stay, with Turkey home to Arab journalists essential of their governments, specifically Egyptian media near the Muslim Brotherhood, a gaggle outlawed by Cairo.
Cairo and Ankara additionally disagree over Libya, the place Turkey has despatched navy advisers backing forces against Egyptian ally Khalifa Haftar, the jap primarily based Libyan navy strongman.
